


Dick's Dilemma

by Akoia



Series: Magic and Masks [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Child Abuse, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-22 19:25:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16604060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akoia/pseuds/Akoia
Summary: Dick Grayson has spent more time in Gotham city the past three months than he had in three years. But there was a very good reason for that.





	Dick's Dilemma

**Author's Note:**

> Hey since Batman kind of exists in a timeless warp, I've decided that this story takes place in 2008. Because I can, I guess.

Dick Grayson has spent more time in Gotham city the past three months than he had in three years. But there was a very good reason for that. Harry Potter, the small eight-year-old boy that he and Jason had met at one of Gotham's run-down parks. He liked sandcastles and animated movies, and he never seemed to have enough to eat. Kate called Dick every time Harry went into the diner. It was always the same meal. Chicken strips and a sprite. Then Harry would hide his fries in his pockets and leave. Kate had started to just put them in a plastic bag for him, so they wouldn't get his pants all greasy. 

_"You can see his ribs Dick! Whoever he's living with is starving him!"_

Dick sighed into the earpiece. "Yeah, I figured. He said his guardians don't feed him unless he finishes chores first." He pulled into the cave and took his helmet off, waving to Jason who was sulking under the watchful eye of Alfred. "Hey, Kate, I've got to go. Are you coming out tonight?" He asked. 

 _"I came out five years ago, Dick. But yes, I'll see you all tonight."_ She hung up with a snicker. 

Dick stuck his phone in his pocket and walked over to his little brother, raising an eyebrow at him. "What happened?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips. 

"Master Jason has been grounded after he 'beat-up' three school boys who were picking on another child." 

Dick looked at Jason who stuck his tongue out at Dick and turned away. "They were bullying Harry. They ripped up all his school supplies, and you  _know_ his shity relatives aren't going to replace that stuff." 

 _"Language,_ master Jason," Alfred scolded, with no real heat behind his words. He placed a hand of Jason's shoulder. 

"When did you see Harry?" Dick asked curiously, sitting in the chair under the Batcomputer. 

Jason's cheeks flushed and he shrugged. "Sometimes he walks home by himself at night...so I walk him home. No big deal."

"Master Jason, if you are worried for your friend, perhaps we can go this weekend to pick him up some school supplies. But please refrain from beating civilian children, no matter how much they deserve it,"  Alfred said. 

"Yeah, sure," Jason sighed. He looked up at Dick who was grinning at him like a maniac. "Stop looking at me like that!" He snapped. He threw his hands up when Dick's only response was to laugh. Jason got up and left the cave. 

* * *

"Are you going to meet up with your friend?" Bruce asked that Friday. "The one you and Jason keep raving about?" 

Dick was in the middle of putting his shoes on. "Yeah, I pick him up at the park then we go do something fun. Then I buy him dinner and take him home." Dick raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?" 

"I'm coming with you today. I want to size this situation up myself." 

"What are you planning?" 

Bruce's lips twitched. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Now come on, we're taking one of my cars." 

They drove, both humming along to the  Lady Gaga CD that Jason had left in the car. Bruce turned and smirked at his son, mouthing the lyrics to Dick, who sighed and rolled his eyes looking away. He felt like throwing the door open and jumping into the street when Bruce was stopped at a traffic light and starting disco dancing. "You're never going to be too old for me to embarrass you, Dick." Bruce smacked his arm. 

Dick pointed at the park entrance. "That one, he's normally on the swings or in the sandbox." 

Bruce pulled in and parked the car. Bruce decided to wait in the car while Dick pushed Harry on the swings a few times. Dick couldn't help but smile when Harry laughed happily, sticking his legs out and throwing his head back. "Alright, do you want to get lunch first or do you want to go to the arcade?" Dick asked when Harry jumped off the swings. 

"Can we please eat first?" Harry asked, looking up at him. He grinned when Dick nodded. Harry reached up and took his hand, swinging it back and forth. 

"So my dad came with me today, he wanted to meet you," Dick said when they were walking towards the car. Harry looked at him in alarm. "He heard me and Jason talking about you, he was curious. He's really nice, I promise." Dick smiled, placing a hand on Harry's head to try and help his anxiety. "He said he'd buy us a hot fudge sundae." 

Harry grinned and nodded. When Dick helped him into the back of the car, he shyly said hello to Bruce who still rocking it to Jason's Lady Gaga CD. Bruce held his hand out to Harry and introduced himself. They drove and Harry hummed quietly to the music. They went to the same restaurant they normally did and Kate already had their table ready. She knew what Harry wanted, already bringing it out to him and handing him the bag of fries that he put in his pockets. 

Bruce and Dick both ordered and Bruce asked for a sundae for when they were all finished. 

"So, Harry, how do you like living in America?" Bruce asked. 

"I like it, there's a lot of places to go!" 

"Does your aunt or uncle take you places?" He asked.

Harry shook his head, sticking his tongue out while he concentrated on his drawing. "No, I just go on my own." 

"Your aunt and uncle let you walk around the city by yourself?" Bruce shot Dick a look and the young man shrugged. 

"Yeah," Harry said slowly. "They don't want me home most of the time so I just walk around." 

"Did they  _tell you_ that they didn't want you home?" 

"My aunt does, all the time." Harry waved it off like it wasn't a big deal. "I got left on their doorstep when I was a baby, but they didn't want me. So they're really mad that they had to take me in."  

"Do you have any other relatives, besides your aunt and uncle?" 

"Nope, just them and my cousin, Dudley." 

Bruce reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pen and a small notebook. He scribbled down a phone number and handed it to Harry. "If you ever feel like someone is going to hurt you, I want you to run into a gas station and ask to use their phone. Day or night, it doesn't matter, myself, Dick, or my butler Alfred will come to get you. Is that alright with you, Harry?" 

Harry held the number in his hands with wide eyes. He looked up at Bruce like he was a shining star and nodded. "Thank you so much, sir!" Harry folded it up and gently slipped it into his giant pocket. 

"Of course," 

* * *

"What are you planning, Bruce?" Dick asked, getting ready to go back to Bludhaven. "And don't even try, I know you're up to  _something."_

Bruce looked up from the Batcomputer with a chip hanging out of his mouth. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said before turning his head back down and working on a case. Jason was jumping around in the background, kicking dummies, yelling whatever came into his head. He did a flip and landed next to Dick with a smirk on his face. Bruce looked at his youngest son with a frown, his eyebrows creasing together.

"Bruce had Alfred clean out the room next to your old one last night." He wiggled his eyebrows. Jason and Dick both looked at Bruce who was looking between them with a turned down mouth. "He also moved the old pullout couch into the attic and brought a new bed in." 

"Nothing is  _for sure,"_ Bruce said, holding up his hands.

" _Yet!"_ Jason corrected, pointing an accusing finger at Bruce. He turned back to Dick and crossed his arms. "I  _told_ you, I fucking told you, Dick!" 

" _Language!_ Master Jason!" Alfred scolded his tone hard. He was carrying a tray of food. He handed Dick a Tupperware full of chocolate chip cookies. "However, yes, I do believe master Jason 'told you.'" 

"Honestly, do  _all_ rich people collect orphans or is it just you?" Jason asked, trying to fish a cookie out of Dick's supply and whined when he was swatted away. 

"Yeah, it's been two to two so far. Now a third, it is starting to look like a collection isn't it?" Dick shoved his cookies into his bag after having to swat Jason away a third time. 

"Like I said...nothing is for sure...yet. But I  _might_ have had Lucious set up the official documents for me to adopt Harry." He paused and stopped typing. "The only problem is convincing his  _guardians_ to relinquish custody of him." 

"That shouldn't be so hard, they treat him like trash. You heard Harry last night, he said they never want him around," Dick said. 

"That might be true, but Harry is Petunia Dursley's only living relative besides her child or her husband's family. Harry is her last connection to her sister. It's not impossible to think that she might be a bit sentimental. In some strange, twisted way, she might even think that she's doing a  _fantastic_ job in raising her sister's son." Bruce was quiet for a few more seconds, his fingers moving rapidly over the keys. He sighed and straightened his back. "Also, I just bought the company Harry's uncle works for...I thought it might give him... _incentive."_

"That's  _got_ to be illegal," Dick said with a shake of his head. "Alright, I'm leaving. See you all Friday!" He waved one final time to Alfred and Jason before hopping onto his bike and darting out of the cave. 

The drive home wasn't long. Just about forty-five minutes. An hour if traffic was bad. He took the key out and threw it into his bag. He'd need to patrol, he'd been gone from the city for twenty-four hours and he already heard about a murder that had happened. He walked into his house and threw his keys on the counter. He just wanted to go to bed, but  _noo,_ there was always something happening. He took his time putting his suit on and disappeared into the night, turning on his scanners, so at the very least Alfred would know he was safe. 

 


End file.
